Press-plate.



A. W. FRENCH.

Patented. Feb; 19, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

II -II IIMHIIII III |^|I I II I A. W. FRENCH.

PRESS PLATE.

APPLICATION HLEDJUNE10.1916.

v Patsnte' Feb 19, HHS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 www@ ALFRED W. FRENCH, OF PIQ'A, OHIO.

PRESS-PLATE.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 19, 1918.

Application tiled J une 10, 1916. Serial No. 102,973.

To all u-hom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED W. FRENCH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Piqua, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful 11nprovement in Press-llates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to press plates for oil-expressing presses of the kind in which the previously formed cakes of meal are placed between spaced horizontal press plates, and more particularly to press plates of the kind shown in my copending application No. 2l,512, filed April 28, 1915, in which each press plate comprises two plates secured together face to face, between which are formed channels for the drainage of the rIhe objects of the invention are to produce a press plate of this kind which is provided with eti'ective means for guiding the meal cake to be pressed into its proper central position on the upper or mat plate; also to provide a press plate of this kind which is so constructed as to avoid the pinching of the press cloth between parts of adjacent plates during the operation of the press; also to provide a press plate of this kind which is so arranged as to facilitate the draining` of oil from the edges of the cake; also to improve 'the construction of press plates of this kind in the respects hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

ln the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of a press plate embodying the invention having the mat plate thereof partially broken away to snow the lower or supporting plate.

F ig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary transverse sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, of two press plates showing the same in the position which they occupy relatively to cach other before compressing the cake.

Fig. 4 is a similar view showing two press .plates in the position which they occupy after the cakes have been compressed.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a press plate.

rl`he press plate comprises a main or supporting plate A and a smaller or mat plate B which is secured on the upper face of. the supporting plate by any suitable means, such as screws or the like a. The main or supporting plate is provided with the usual notched portions a a2 near the front and rear corners thereof for the usual links or devices (not shown) which connect adjacent plates. Any other suitable means for connecting the press plates may be employed. The two plates or portions of each press plate are preferably provided with a plurality of oppositely arranged longitudinally-extending grooves which register and form oil draining channels C between the two portions of the press plate, and the upper plate is provided with numerous small perforations for conducting oil from the upper surface of the mat plate to the oil draining channels. T he upper and lower surfaces of the press plates are preferably provided with the usual corrugations c which prevent the stretching or spreading of the press cloth when the meal cakes are subjected to pressure. Except as hereinafter explained, all of these parts, which in themselves constitute no part of this invention, may be of any suitable construction.

Each press plate A is provided on its lower face at opposite sides of the plate with two compression or cake-retaining strips or walls between which the upper or mat plate B of the next press plate below is adapted to enter or telescope for pressing the material when the press plates are moved toward each other in the operation of the press, and which prevent the spreading or squeezing out of the meal when the same is being pressed. The cake-retaining strip or wall may be of any suitable construction, that shown consisting of an angle-shaped bar or member D suitably secured, for example, by means of rivets l to the lower face of the supporting plate i A.. One flange or leg of the retaining bar D projects downwardly from the supporting plate and constitutes a wall or dam to preventfthe spreading of the cakes when `compressed.

rl`he press plates are provided at opposite sides of the upper or mat plate 'B with upwardly projecting guide parts extending above the top faces of the mats for facilitating the proper positioning of the cakes centrally on the plates. For this purpose, each mat plate B, in the construction shown, is made slightly wider than the meal cakes to be compressed and is provided at its opposite sides with upwardly extending flanges or lips E formed integral with the plate. The upwardly extending lips are made high enough to effectually guide the cake into its proper position, centrally on the press plate. The upper and lower edges of the ribs and retaining bars respectively are rounded or beveled so that if the press plates get out of alinement they will be guided back into proper relation to each other by means of the cooperating beveled edges. lhen the press plates are fully separated, as sho-wn in `Fig. 3, the adjacent edg-es of the lips of the mat plate of one press plate and the retainin'gbarson the next press plate are separated vertically to such` an extent that the preliminary compression of the cake can be done before these members telescope. This makes it possible to make the press plate comparatively thin, the two ccmponent plates A and B thereof being only of suliicient thickness to withstand the pressure and strains to which they are subjected without injury and to permit the formation of oil draining channels therein. During the preliminary pressing of the meal cakes, there is no objectionable tendency of the meal to squeeze out, and when the further pressure is applied, the lips` and retaining strips are telescoped s o as to avoid the squeezing out. By

means of this arrangement the press platesl occupy much less vertical space than the plates heretofore used, and also eliminate thev necessity for using hair mats. T he capacity of a press provided with plates of this kind is therefore considerably increased.

Since the mat'plate can enter between the retaining bars when the press plates are moved together,l the flanges can be madev of considerably greater height than inra construction in which the mat plates are made wider so that they cannot enter between the retaining bars. The downwardly dependflanges, together with the upwardly extending lips onthe mat-plates, reduce the open sj'jaeejbetween the lips and flanges so that these parts telescope one within the other considerably beforethe cake is pressed to its maximum extent, thereby positively preventing themeal at the edges of the cakes from, being squeezed out toward the sides of the plate. The mat plate entering upwardly between the flanges of the retaining bars forms a downwardly opening groove or space f between the mat plate and each retaining bar through which any oil escaping from the sides of the cake readily drains downwardly. In the construction shown, the pinching of a press cloth between the downwardly depending flange of the retaining bar and the upwardly extending lipv of the mat plate is prevented since theinner edge of the lips E engage the edges of the Apress cloth when the press Vcloth andthe meal cake are fed into the press, so, that tbe edges of the press clothV are bent upwardly and held bythe guiding lips Yaway, from the retaining walls in position in which they cannot enter between the lips and the retaining walls.

I claim as my invention:

l. Press plates adapted to be arranged one overanother in a press` and each comprising a supporting plate, and a mat plate secured on the upper face of said supporting plate, said' press plates having draining channels between said supporting and mat plates, and Said mat plates having perforations leading to said draining channels, and cake retain ing bars depending from the undersides. of the press plates, tie; total depth from the upper edge of the mat plate to the lower edge of the retaining bar of'one press plate being such Nthat when the press plates are fully separated in the press an open vertical space is left between the retaining bars and mat plate of adjacent press plates, and said mat plates being narrower than the supporting plates and arranged so that one mat plate is adapted to enter between the retaining bars of the next press plate when the press plates aremoved towardeac'h` other.

2. Press plates adapted to be arranged one over another in a press and'each comprising a supporting plate, and a matrplate sup'-A ported on the upper face of said supporting;

plate, draining channels being formed between said supporting and mat plates, and said mat plates having perforations leading to said Vdraining' channels, upwardly extending cake guides on said press plates at the sides of said mat plates for guiding cakes onto the mat plates, andca'ke-retaining bars depending from the undersides of said pressiplates, thek tota-l: depth vfrom the upper edge of the cake guide to' the'lower edgeof the retain-ing bar of one press plate being sucht'hat when the press4 plates are fully separated in the press an' open vertical space is left between the retaining bar and cake guide of' adjacent press plates,and.said mat plate and cake guidesof oney pressplate being arranged' to enter between said retaining barsV of the next press plate when the press plates are moved towardeachother;

3. Press plates adapted to' be arranged one over another inv a press and eachy com` prising a supporting plate, andl a matpl'ate secured on the upperzface ofsaid supporting plate, oilk draining channels beingprovided in said press plates and saidI mat platesy hav'- ing perforations leading tosaid channels,

cake guides'projeetin-gf upwardly above the upper surface ofl the mat plates at opposite e'dges of said mat plates, and cakeretaining bars extending downwardlyfrom the press plates at oppositeY sides thereof, the

being adapted to enter between said bars during the preliminary pressing movement of the plates.

4. The combination of a series of press plates each having spaced cake-retaining walls depending from its underside and a pressing portion projecting upwardly from its upper side and cake guide parts which project upwardly above the upper surface otl Said pressing portion at opposite edges of said pressing portion, said press plates having therein draining channels and said pressing portions having perforations leading to said draining channels, the pressing portion and guide parts ot one press plate being arranged to telescope between the retaining walls of the neXt press plate, and said parts being arranged .so that said retaining walls and guide parts of adjacent press plates are separated vertically by an open space when the press plates are fully separated.

5. The combination of a series of press plates each comprising a main plate and a ve cents each,

mat plate secured together face to face and having grooves in their adjacent faces forming oil draining channels between the plates, cake guide lips on said mat plate at opposite edges thereof projecting upwardly above the upper surface ot' said mat plate, and spaced retaining walls projecting downwardly from the underside of each press plate, the mat plate and guide lips ot one press plate being adapted to telescope between the retaining walls of the next press plate above, and said parts being arranged so that said retaining walls and guide lips of adjacent plates are separated vertically by an open space when the press plates are fully separated.

Witness my hand, this 29th day of May',

ALFRED lV. FRENCH.

lVitnesses J. L. BLACK, RICHARD B. HERBERT.,

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

